Worth



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1,

H. W. 'SOUTHWORTH LINT COTTON CLEANER ANDv GONDBNSER.

No. 597,751. Patented Jan.. 25, 1898.

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Figi.

(No Model.)

H. WJSOUTHWORTH.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2,.

LINT COTTON CLEANER AND GONDENSER.

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IN VEN T09 A TTU/INEI 4UNITI-:D STATES PATENT muon.

IIORATIO IV. lSOUT'HVVORTH, O NEWT YORK, N. Y.

MNT-COTTON CLEANER AND CONDENSER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 597,751, dated January 25, 1898.

Application filed July 24, 1896. Serial No. 600,337. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, IIORATIO IV. SOUTH-A WORTH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of N ew York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Lint- Cotton Cleaners and Condeusers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in machines known as lint-cotton cleaners and condensers, which serve to clean cotton as it comes from the gin and to condense or compact it into layers from which bales may be readily made.

These machines not only have for their object the removal of dirt from the cotton and the condensation of the cotton to enable it to be more closely packed in the bales, but they materially aid in the manufacturing of the cotton by presenting it to the picker in layers instead of in a heterogeneous mass, as formerly.

The operation of carding is mainly employed for the purpose of straightening out and laying the fibers parallel to one another. Therefore it is obvious that if in the act of cleaning and condensing lint-cotton the iibers can be placed in parallelism lengthwise of the bat the time and trouble of carding will be greatly lessened and the usual previous operations greatly facilitated.

Following out the principle Well known in paper-making, that fibers subjected to a current of water will place themselves longitudinally of the current and parallel to one another, I have contrived a condensing-chamber into which the fibers from the cleaner may enter in a current of air longitudinally thereof and parallel to one another, which position they retain in the bat. In order to produce this parallelism, I employ, in addition to the current of air supplied by the gins in introducing the cotton into the cleaner, a strong forward suction in the condensingchamber and separate said chamber from the cleaning-compartment by al passage of sufficient length to provide for the straightening out and paralleling of the fibers as they iioat to the bat former or support.

Machines have heretofore been constructed in which suction has been employed with the intent of carrying off the dirt andv dust from the cotton, but it has not to my knowledge been employed for the above purpose nor have machines been constructed in which the suction and introduction of fiber have been so related that a para-Heling of fibers could result. Suction used to remove dirt by acting through the forming-bat is clearly ineffectual, as it simply draws the dirt down with the fiber into the bat. To obviate this difficulty, I separate the cleaning-compartment from the condensing-chamber and thoroughly clean the cotton before itis presented for matting and condensing. I also employ an especially-constructed screen or belt upon which to form the bat, it being provided with perforations of such form that none of the longitudinally-presented fibers may pass through it, and yet such as will allow sufficient passage for the suction-current and occasional transverse fibers. After the bat is formed by suction, as above stated, it is condensed laterally by an especial form of condenser which acts to narrow and thicken the bat.

With these purposes and ends in view the invention consists in a cotton-cleaner opera-ting to project onto an endless carrier the dirt from the fibers as the latter are on their way from the gin or gins to the batting or condensing apparatus.

It further consists in placing the fibers parallel in the bat and in employing a suctioncurrentA for this purpose.

It also consists in especial means and mechanism for applying' the suction-current to the formation of a batof uniform thickness.

The invention further consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure l represents in sectional side elevation a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents the same in plan, a portion thereof being broken away. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the condensing apparatus. Fig. 4 represents in plan and cross-section a detail on enlarged scale.

In describing my invention I shall refer to its application to cleaning, compacting, and

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to limit myself to this application alone, as

it may be used in treating other fibrous ma-Y terial.

In the drawings, A indicates the cleaning` compartment; B, the compacting or batting compartment; C, the passage connecting the two, 'and D the condenser by which the bat is narrowed to the proper width for baling.

As a general rule cleaners and condensers arel constructed to receive the product from several gins. I have indicated at E the discharge-pipes of four gins Whose product my machine is well adapted to care for. It may even care for the product of several more.

The cleaning-compartment is composed of a suitable casing,in the upper part ofwhich is formed a sinuous passage composed of a mouthpiece F, and the transversely-extending arches G, separated and supported at their bases by the ribs Il.. The lower side of thispassage is formed by an endless apron I, constituting a dirt-conveyer which passes over snit-able rolls at the ends of the cleaning-compartment and is provided with transverse slats, substantially as indicated. These are preferably inclined in a direction opposite to the travel of the belt and are constructed in the usual way to press at their free edges against the walls Within which or under which they travel. Writhin the sinuous passage and extending transversely thereof are the recurved walls or battle plates J, whose lower edges are in close proximity to the con veyer I, and whose upper edges extend up under and conform to the contour of the arches Gr, substantially as indicated. The conveyer-slats passing with a rubbing engagement under the lower edges of plates J serve the double purpose of interrupting the passage of a current of air thereunder and of throwing back any cotton that might start to pass under said plates. The dirt discharged from the conveyer I may be collected in any suitable manner, as in a drawer K.

The coinpacting or batting chamber is formed in any suitable manner, and has located theren the foraminous bat former or support L, which is preferably mounted to travel upon suitable rollers M and N. Suitable bed-rollers for sustaining the upper portion of this support may be supplied, as at O. This endless bat-form er may have its supporting-rollers located in any suitable position and of any desired number, but for economy of space and material I prefer to locate them in a triangle, as shown, the lower one of which, N, may be made adjustable in any suitable manner, as by lever and set-screw P. The rolls IWI can be made adjustable in the usual manner to .regulate the travel of the bat-support. IVithin the triangle thus formed and near its apex I locate a perforated pipe Q, and to this pipe from the under portion of the bat-support I extend a series of hoppers R, formed in any suitable way, as by thin partitions extending from side to side of the chamber and from the bat-support convergently to the tube. Thesame result can be obtained by the use of branched pipes, the orifice of each branch being close to the under side of the bat-support. This tube should be so perforated or have openings therein so formed as to provide for an evendistribution through the bat-support of the consequent current of air forced'or drawn to it, and thus provide for an even laying of fiber upon the support. These perforations or openings may be provided with regulating gates, if desired. These openings in the pipe may be made of such shape or relative sizes that more air can enter it at one portion than at another, as found necessary to produce an even distributionof bers upon the support, For the purpose of illustration such openings are shown in the form of slits wider near the ends of the pipe than at the middle. The passage of air through these slits may be regulated, if desired, by sleeves or gates, as indicated in Fig. 4, wherein the perforated pipe Q is shown as surrounded by a rotary sleeve 15, which by any suitable arrangement may be turned about pipe Q to increase or diminish the amount of air passing through said slits.' A pipe provided kwith such slits will be less likely to be clogged by fibers drawn throughthe bat-support and if clogged can be more readily cleaned.

Suitable doors, as S, may be provided in the walls of the compacting-chamber for nspection and cleaning purposes. So also may suitable doors or windows S' be provided for a like purpose in the cleaning-compartment.

The endless bat-support will be made to travel in the direction indicated by the arrow and discharge the b at under the compressingroll T. This roll is preferably mounted in slidingj ournal-boxes,above which are located light springs, so that it may adjust itself to pass over different thicknesses of the bat.

The bat-condenser consists of the bed L', upon which is mounted a series of ribs or partitions V, which form channels between them and converge as they approach the outer end of the condenser. Over this bed is mounted ICO IIO

a set of rolls W, which are located as nearly A as possible at right angles to the ribs'V. The roll W at the forward end of the condenser is preferably a tluted roll and serves to draw the bat from the compacting-chainber over the lifting lip or ledge X, over which the bat moves in transit from the foraminous belt. The roll 72, located at the outer end of the condenser, is also by preference fluted and may be also transversely grooved, so that the iiuted portions may work into the channels formed bythe ribs V. All these rolls W Wl V2 may be made vertically adjustable to provide for different thicknesses of bats or different degrees of condensation, as in the manner illustrated for rolls W. These rolls and likewise therolls M and N of the foraminous belt and the rolls carrying the conveyer I may be rotated from any suitable power and in any suitable manner and maybe of any number desired.

The exhaust of air through the pipe Q may be provided in any suitable way, and I have indicated at Y an exhaust fan and blower `for this purpose. The discharge from this fan may be conducted by a pipe, as Z, (shown in dotted lines,) into the mou th F of the cleaningchamber or it may discharge into the open air or into a suitably-screened box, where any fiber that may pass off through it can be collected.

The operation of my machine as above clescribed is as follows: The cotton being injected at F from the gins is carried forward through the sinuous passage partly bythe force of the gin (which may be supplemented by any suitable blower, if desired) and part-ly by the suction created by the exhaust-fan Y. As the cotton is borne through said passage itbeats around the recurved edges of the walls .I and the lower edges of the ribs H, and by the curvilinear motion acquired through engagement with the curved walls of arches G and the baille-plates and the eddying action caused by the recurved form of said plates the dirt is thrown down or projected upon the belt I and conveyed away, the cotton by these series of movements as just described being thoroughly relieved of all dirt. As the clean cotton enters the passage C its fibers become separated and are drawn by the current of air into parallelism to one another and in that position are drawn down upon the traveling support L, in which the perforations, as shown in Fig. 2, are oblong and extend transversely to the belt, thereby providing ample support for the fibers which lie longitudinally of the belt and at the same time furnish a sufficient opening for the yb'iassageV of the air drawn down through the belt and also provide for the passage of such fibers as may fall transversely of the belt. The bat formed upon the belt is relieved from the action of the exhaust-fan Y on passing the summit of roller M and will then pass under the roller T onto the condenser, where it will be crowded by the rollers W' down into the channels formed between the partitions V and laterally condensed. The extent of this division of the bat may be regula-ted by the vertical adjustment of the rolls YV W2. The speed of the bat-support will be regulated in proportion to the thickness of the bat to be formed and tothe amount of cotton discharged from the gin and to the force of air-current emcircumstances accumulate in said chamber. Such a port is indicated at G as opening into a iiue 7 and controlled by a flap or valve 8. This flue 7 preferably leads back into one or more of the gins, vso as to return thereto any ber which may discharge through the opening G. able condition of the current of air in the machine the valve 8 may be provided with an indicator, one form of which is shown in Fig. l, and consists simply of a finger or pointer attached to the axis of the valve and arranged to play over a scale, as 9. In addition tothe indicator there' may also be provided an alarm which will Warn the attendant when the excess of air-pressure has opened the exhaustport. This alarm may consist of any ordinary bell or buzzer l0, preferably operated on an electric' circuit which will be closed by the pointer when the valve 8 is opened.

To make the compacting-chamber tight, strips of belting or other suitable material may be placed, as at 1l, thereby making a close joint between the traveling support L and the casing, and another strip at l2 between the Casin g and the self adjusting roller T.

I do not confine myself to any particularV material in the construction of this apparatus, but prefer to form the curved passage through the cleaner of sheet metal and to support the edges of the walls .I and of the ribs II by rods extending from one side of the chamber to the other, substantially as indicated. Whether or not this passage is made of metal it should be carefully finished on the interior, so as to provide a free passage for the ber.

I do not limit myself to the form shown for the construction of the cleaningcompartment nor that of the compacting-chamber nor of the support for the condenser, as these are purely mechanical details that may be varied to suit the size of the apparatus and the manner of applying power to the several moving parts.

Other changes than those above mentioned may be made in the formation and construction of the machine embodying my invention without departing from the spirit thereof.

lVhat I claim as my invention isl. In a fiber-cleaning machine, a passage through which the ber is passed by a current yof air, means for creating such current, a conveyer forming the bottom of said passage, and curved projections and baffle-plates in said passage rendering the same tortuous thereby imparting a curvilinear motion to the liber and providing for the projection of the dirt from the fiber upon the conveyer.

2. -In a chamber for cleaning ber, the combination with a passage for the ber, having along one side transverse arched portions With inwardly-projecting ribs between them, and transverse walls or baille-plates extending from the opposite side of the passage into the As a means of showing this undesir- IOO IIO

arched portions and curved at their `upper end concentrically to the arched portions, and. means providing for thecontinuous removal of dirt projected from'the fiber as it. passes Said ribs andwalls, substantiallyas setforth. f

3. The fiber-passage provided with the transverse arches and theribs H, and having the curved Walls or baftle-plates extending up under the arches and recurved at their upper edges ooncentrical-ly therewith, as and-for the purpose set forth.

4. In a fiber passage or chute, the combination of a series of transverse larches forming one side thereof, the transverse ribs in which. said arches meet, the recurved Walls extending into said arches from the opposite side of said passage, and the endless conveyer form-r ingsaid-opposite side ofthe fiber-passage and running closely to the lower `edges of said Walls, and provided with slats engaging with said lower edges, substantiallyas and for'the purpose set forth.

5. The combi-nation With the foraminous supportfor the bat, of a perforated suction-y pipe extending transverselythereunder., and

hoppers extending longitudinally thereof di-k vergently toward the support, said pipe beingprovided with perfor-ations of greater extent at itsends than at `its middle, as and for 'the purpose set forth.

6. The combination With -oneor more /gins' f or openers of the cleaning-compartment and means for supplying thereto the lint-cottonl from the gins or openers, the compacting or batting chamber, a flue leading from the top thereof to one or more of the gins or openers, and an automatic pressure-relief valve located in the flue at its junction with saidl 7. The combination with lthe compaoting-y chamber and the vexhaust-nue leading therefrom, of the relief-valve in said flue, a gradiu ated scale having a moving ,memberto show the position of said valve, and an alarm set off by the moving member of said scale, substantially asset forth.

8. In a fiber-bat condenser, the combination With' the bed `provided With converging channels, of a series of revolving rollers located over said channels for compressing the bat into the channels and forcing it along in the direction `of their convergence, as and for the purpose set forth.

9. The combination with a gang of gins or openers, of the cotton-cleaning compartment with its sinuous passage and dirt-conveyor, the compacting orbatting chamber connected theretoby the free and openpassage, yand provided with its suction apparatus and the traveling bat-support, and the bat-condenser, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination With the foraminous bat-support, of a suction-pipe extending f thereunder and slitted longitudinally, hoppers extending from the bat-support to said sli-ts,-and gates `for regulating the-size of said slits yfor the purpose set forth.

Signed at New York, inthe county of New York and State of New York, this 21st day of July, A. D. 1896.

HORATIO W. SOUTHVORTH.

' Witnesses:

WM. H. CAPEL, D. I-I. DECKER. 

